Life
by Sparrow21
Summary: A songfic to Carrie Underwoods Jesus, Take the Wheel BRUCAS with flashbacks


"Would you quit worrying! We will be fine. I do know what I am doing ya know!"

"Baby… I know you do and I will always worry about you so you can stop asking me not to! I just wish you would have come up with me, especially since mom and Keith moved to Cincinnati and you have no idea where you're going! It would have been so much easier."

"Lucas, you know I wanted to but I couldn't leave work until today. I had a meeting this morning and plus, at least you got in an extra day with just your mom and Keith. Now we will be there in a little while, I am going to just feed your daughter and then we will be heading out. Ok? Tell mom and Keith I said hi and I will see you in a little while. I love you and STOP worrying."

"Haha… okay, I love you too and give Emma a kiss for me kay? Call me when you get to that rest stop right off the highway just so I know where you are. I'll see you soon. Bye."

"Okay I will… bye baby!"

With that they both hung up their phones and Brooke turned around to see their 10 month old daughter Emma sitting in her high chair with banana baby food all over her little face with a huge dimpled smile just like her mothers.

"Oh baby… I turn around for one second and look at you! You have food all over your cute little face!"

As Brooke cleaned off her and Lucas' pride and joy, their baby girl, she couldn't help but smile at how her life had turned out. She never would have guessed she would be 27, married, a mother, and almost running her own business.

When she was younger, she always saw herself as a trophy wife. She saw herself married to an older man, who had lots of money and was not home too much. She would shop during the day, throw dinner parties at night. She would never have any kids for her fear of turning into her mother, but all that went out the window when she was in high school. This all changed when she met a boy named Lucas Scott. He had showed her something that no one else ever had. He had showed her that there was more to her then just her body and her looks.

From then on, she was lost. She was lost in the possibility that there was something more. Something more than money and looks and superficial and material things.

Now her life was exactly as she had wanted it and she wouldn't change a thing for the life of her. After high school, her and Lucas had broken up before they went off to college. They were both attending Duke University but thought it would be better to see if there was anything else out there. They didn't want to hold each other back. However, this theory didn't last long as they were both miserable without each other.

The final straw came when Brooke had gone to a party with this guy she had met in one of her classes. He seemed like a nice guy but that was before he slipped something in her drink at the party and carried her upstairs. Thank god Lucas had been looking for her to say he was leaving or something Brooke didn't even want to think about could have happened.

_Lucas had looked everywhere down stairs and couldn't find her anywhere so he traveled up the stairs in hopes she would be up there. He knocked on the last door at the end of the hall after checking all the others and not finding her. _

_He tried the handle but it was locked and just when he was about to leave he heard a voice he would no anywhere say the word 'help.' He kicked the door and there on the bed was a very drunk and out of it Brooke with no shirt on and a very pissed off guy straddling her waist. _

_Lucas took in the situation for a second before throwing the guy to the ground and beating the shit out of him. Lucas then helped Brooke put her shirt back on and carried her to his dorm. She woke up the next morning in Lucas' bed and couldn't remember anything. Lucas explained the situation and she broke down in tears at what could have happened. _

_Lucas confronted her about their stupid theory of there being 'something else out there' and with one look into the others eyes they broke that verbal agreement with a much more concrete one. There on his bed, they felt each other for the first time in months as their lips collided and there body melded into one. With that, they vowed themselves to each other and since then, the two had been inseparable. _

After college, Brooke got a job at an Event Planning company and began her career there. She worked her way to the top and was eventually planning parties for the most elite of their clients. Everyone knew in order to have a good party; you needed Brooke Davis to plan it. Lucas on the other hand had ended up doing what he had always wanted to do. He was drafted into the NBA right out of college and was now playing for the New York Knicks.

As Brooke finished cleaning up her daughter and finished loading up the car, she was just about ready to go.

"Your daddy is such a worrier! No wonder he always seems to be brooding. Let's hope you didn't inherit that quality from daddy!" Brooke said while she tickled her little girl as she buckled her into her car seat in the back. She handed her a little stuffed pony that Lucas had gotten the day she was born and got in the front seat, put her sun glasses on and buckled her seat belt.

"Ok baby girl… are you ready for a car ride to grandmas? Tomorrow is Christmas so sleep tight angel… Here we go!" Brooke said in the baby voice she only used when talking to Emma as she looked at her in the rearview mirror. With that she baked out of the drive way and the two Scott women were on their way.

As Brooke heard a familiar song on the radio she was brought back to her and Lucas' wedding day. She had been so nervous but she couldn't figure out why since she knew she had wanted to marry Lucas and spend the rest of her life with him.

_The day had been perfect. It was the beginning of April and the sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. There was a light breeze in the air and it smelled of sweet flowers and a little bit f salt water. The white chairs were set up in perfectly aligned rows and were filled with there families and friends. The crisp white runner that began in the back and lead to where her future laid was sprinkled with pink and white rose petals. _

_Lucas stood in the front of everyone, Nathan at his side and the Minister on the other and nervously awaited his bride. The waves crashed against the shore in the back ground and the soft music being played filled the air. Brooke stood in the back with Whitey at her side ready for her life it finally begin, the life she would always cherish. _

_As her song began to play, she felt the butterflies in her stomach flutter and willed herself not to cry. She stepped up to the aisle and saw Lucas as he looked up and their eyes locked. In that moment, everyone else there slowly drifted away and it was just the two of them on the beach. Before she knew it, she was at his side and their hands were connected. Their eyes never left each others through the entire ceremony. She had never felt so complete in her life. The ceremony came to an end with a sweet, sensual, passionate kiss that they could only give each other._

_When she was introduced at the reception as Mrs. Lucas Scott, she had never felt such pride in anything in her whole life. They had made it through all obstacles in their way and had overcome all the huddles life had thrown and now they were being rewarded. Their reward was each other. _

_As they floated across the dance floor to their first dance, they shared a slow kiss. Lucas leaned down and buried his head in her hair. He inhaled deeply, implanting her sweet scent into his memory forever. He tilted his head and lined his lips up against her ear as he slowly, lovingly whispered something that no one else heard, something he had come to say regularly since that day. As his hot breath tickled her ear, he whispered "You're my forever Pretty Girl" and she knew he meant it. _

Brooke smiled at the memory of her husband and her on their wedding day. It was easily the happiest day of her life, well technically tied with the day Emma was born. She loved being able to look back on her life and pull a memory from here or one from there and smile.

Tonight was Christmas Eve and she was tired. She wished she was snuggled up in her covers, resting her head on Lucas' chest as he twirled a piece of her hair in his fingers and she lazily ran her fingers across his bare chest. But that would have to wait until she made it to Cincinnati. Ever since Keith and Karen decided to move from Tree Hill to Cincinnati, Lucas and Brooke hadn't seen them much. They had moved about two and a half years ago and had seen them when Emma was born and on two family vacations. She missed talking with Karen about everything going on and listening to Keith tell stories that always left her with tears in her eyes from laughing so hard. She had even been calling them mom and dad since she and Lucas got married since her own parents weren't present in her life.

The only thing that sucked about them moving was the drive. Since she and Lucas lived in New York and they lived in Cincinnati it was quite a drive. She would have flown but that would have been too hard with Emma and all the Christmas presents she was bringing with her.

By this time it was getting dark out and she was getting hungry. She decided to stop at a gas station right off the highway and just get something there. She didn't wanna waste any more time then she already had. She would feed Emma while they were stopped, use the bathroom, call Lucas and get back on the road. As much as she couldn't wait to see Karen and Keith, she was also excited to see Lucas since he had been away for a couple games and she hadn't seen him in just over a week.

After getting something for herself and feeding Emma, she ran to the bathroom and got back in the car. Before pulling back on the highway she grabbed her cell phone from where it was perched in the cup holder. She dialed her husband's phone number and waited as it rang. She held Emma in her arms as she tried getting her to settle down so she would hopefully sleep the rest of the way there. After about three rings Lucas picked up.

"Hey baby…" she smiled as she heard his voice.

"Hi husband…" Lucas could tell she was tired by the way she said hi. Usually she was cheery and enthusiastic but when she was tired, she was anything but.

"You sound tired, where are you? Are you close?" he couldn't wait to see his wife and baby girl. He had missed them while on the road with his team.

"I am tired… I feel like I have been driving forever! I just stopped to get gas and grab a little something to eat before we make the last bit of the drive. I have about an hour and a half to two hours still. I should be there soon. What are you doing?"

"I was just helping mom finish up with dinner. She pulled out all the stops on this one. There is so much food I think there will be left overs until well after New Years! I can't wait until you get here! How's my baby girl?"

"Well she wishes she was cuddled up with you but hanging in there. Your daughter is doing good too!" Brooke laughed at her own corny attempt to be funny.

"Haha… well I wish you were both here with me too. But you will be here soon…" Lucas sighed as he ran a hand threw his hair lightly "…baby, I miss you."

"I know me too but just another couple hours and I'm all yours! Just wait until you get your Christmas present… You will definitely be on the naughty list from the thoughts you will be having after I show you what I got for you!"

Lucas couldn't help but smile. After all these years Brooke was still the little temptress she was in high school. "Is that so… well you better get here fast so I can act on some of these naughty thoughts."

Brooke giggled and said "Okay… well I better go so I can get back on the road and make it there in record time. I love you, say hi to mom and dad and I will see you real soon!"

"I love you too and drive safe. The roads are slippery and icy so be careful. I will see you soon. Kiss the munchkin for me. Love you."

"You too, bye."

Getting all settled in again, Brooke took back to the highway and turned the radio on quietly. At least that would keep her focused for a while.

_**She was drivin' last friday on her way to Cincinnati  
On a snow white Christmas Eve  
Goin' home to see her Momma and her Daddy  
With her baby in a back seat  
Fifty miles to go and she was runnin' low  
On faith and gasoline  
It'd been a long hard year**_

She never realized how much thinking gone could do if there was nothing in front of them but the open road. She began to think back to when she first got promoted to a higher position at work and when she was trying to get her own business together. Her life was crazy and hectic and she barely had time to breath. This past year had been hard on her in this sense. Lucas was there to ease some of the stress but not all the time. Sometimes it got to be a little too much. She remembered one of those times.

_She had had a horrendous day at work. Nothing was going right and everything was a mess. She had been on the phone all day with different clients and then in and out of the office and had barely had a moment to herself. It had been like that for the past couple weeks and it was definitely taking its toll on her. She was losing weight rapidly and wasn't sleeping well at night and always had work on her mind. She was missing out on things with Emma and Lucas was trying to fill in for her the best he could but there was something's that just needed a mothers touch. _

_So on her way home, not only did she get a speeding ticket but she also got into a little fender bender. Finally she reached the front door of her house and couldn't wait to get inside and lay down. She walked in the front door and threw her keys on the table and walked into the kitchen where she had heard Lucas's voice talking to Emma. _

_Lucas had just finished feeding her and was cleaning her up a bit. She could see dinner on the counter and knew he must have cooked something for her but she really just wanted to go lie down. _

"_Hey baby…" she said as she kissed Emma on the head and then Lucas on the cheek. Lucas walked in to the living room and placed Emma in the playpen so she could get tired and he could put her to bed. He came back into the kitchen and walked over to where Brooke was sitting in a chair. He leaned over and kissed her forehead and said "hey…"_

"_I made dinner for you so if you wanna eat now or take a shower first then eat, whatever you wanna do…" Lucas trailed off waiting for her to answer. _

"_Actually, I'm not really hungry. I think I am just gonna go to sleep. Thanks though" she said as she got up._

_Lucas sighed and looked into her eyes. "Baby you gotta eat something. You haven't been eating these last few days and you're losing a lot of weight. I know you're stressed and tired right now but you gotta think of your health." _

"_Lucas please don't start with me… I am eating fine, I just wanna go lie down and get some rest. I had a really hard day and I just wanna get in my pajama's and go to sleep." They had been having the same little argument for the past three days and it was getting old. _

"_Brooke, lately everyday is a hard day. I know you wanna get this thing running and off the ground but you need to think of yourself. You have to think of Emma too. She needs to see her mom as well but she can't have that while you're at the office all day. Maybe you could slow down a little, start a little later then planned…" he was cut off by Brooke._

"_I don't want to have this argument again Lucas… I have to get this running by the end of this month and I am already behind schedule. What don't you get about this? I have wanted this for so long and I can finally have it but everything has to be perfect. You got your dream… you're playing for the Knicks, now let me get mine."_

"_Brooke… do you honestly think I don't want you to get your dream? I know how much this means to you but you have to slow down. I barely see you and when I do, we argue, you don't eat well, you haven't slept good in weeks, you're always stressed out, Emma misses her mom. You have barely spent any time with her in the last two weeks. I love you but you need to slow down or else you're gonna get sick."_

_Brooke knew she had been missing out on a lot of things lately but didn't realize it was affecting him this much. Truth was she knew she needed to slow down but for some reason she just couldn't. She was stubborn and would fight against this._

_She rolled her eyes and then said "Lucas, you're exaggerating! I haven't missed that much."_

"_Brooke! Open your eyes! You haven't missed that much? Did you know that Emma said grandma three days ago? I called to tell you but you were too busy so your assistant said you'd call back. You never did! Did you know Haley found out the sex of their baby? They're having a boy. My mom called last week to talk to you about something really important to her she said and you have yet to call her back! This thing is taking over your life Brooke! I am all for you having your own company, you know that! But this is getting ridiculous. Brooke do you even know how long it's been since I last touched you? Since I last made love to you? It's been over three weeks… before that the longest we had gone with out touching each other was four days Brooke! Four days! I miss my wife! I come home, you're never here, I cook dinner, you never eat it. I don't know what else to do!" Lucas threw his hands up defeated. _

_Brooke sat there listening to everything he was saying and couldn't help but get tears in her eyes. She **had** missed a lot but hadn't even noticed! Emma was saying more and more things now a days and she was missing them, she was too busy to congratulate Haley about her baby boy and she couldn't even find time to call Karen back! Worst of all was the pleading and defeated look in Lucas' eyes as he stood in front of her now. It was true now that she thought about it. She and Lucas hadn't made love, let alone barely touched in the last three weeks. That was something that never happened! She couldn't believe he hadn't said anything. Usually when he felt neglected in the bedroom he wasn't shy to ask for it and she willingly gave him affection. But he hadn't said anything in three weeks!_

"_Lucas…" she said as she stepped closer and placed her hand against his chest "… I'm sorry. I didn't even realize. I have been so caught up in all of this that I hadn't realized what I had been neglecting. All of my attention has been focused on this company and that isn't fair to you and especially Emma. I'm sorry." Brooke had tears in her eyes and was willing them not to fall but she couldn't help it, they started trailing down her cheeks._

_Lucas wiped them away with his thumb and looked into her eyes. He saw that she really did feel bad about neglecting everything and one the last couple weeks. "Just… do you think you can take a step back for a bit? Not stop but just take it a little slower? For me and Emma? For you?"_

_Brooke nodded her head and leaned up and kissed him softly on the lips. She pulled back and rested her forehead against his. "I love you" she whispered with her eyes closed._

_Lucas smiled and whispered back "I love you too Pretty girl."_

_After that night, Brooke did keep her word and slowed down with everything at work. She got all caught up with Haley and Karen and began getting back into a routine. She began eating better and sleeping at night. She and Emma had 'girls' days' where it was just the two of them and then at night, her and Lucas had their 'special time', where it was just the two of them. It was hard but eventually she got the business going and everything was going well with it. _

She was brought back from her memory as she heard a loud car horn. That had been a tough couple of weeks but everything had worked out in the end. There was no one else on the road besides the truck that had just honked its horn. Then she saw a sign that said 'Cincinnati 50 miles' and giggled with excitement. She sped up to get there faster and see her husband and kiss him. Just as she was thinking this, the car began to spin out of control.

_**She had a lot on her mind and she didn't pay attention  
She was goin' way too fast  
Before she knew it she was spinnin on thin black sheet of glass  
She saw both their lives flash before her eyes  
**_

_She walked in the room and saw all of her stuff from her bedroom. Her dollhouse in the corner, her pictures hung all along the mirror and her bed sheets on the bed._

"_This is all my stuff… I don't understand."_

"_I,… had my mom talk to your parents and they said that you could stay here till the summer. They didn't… want to, Brooke, but… my mom can be really convincing."_

"_You did this for me?"_

"I wasn't ready to lose you yet… So, you, gonna stay or what?"

"_Yeah, of course! Oh,… I wasn't ready to be lost. Thank you."  
_

_  
He got down on one knee right there as we stood beneath the huge Oak tree that we had carved our initials in years earlier and pulled a stunning ring out of a little black box._

"_Brooke Davis… will you make me the happiest man alive and do me the honor of becoming my wife? Will you marry me?"_

_With tears in her eyes, she shook her head up and down and said "yes" just above a whisper. _

"_You did it Brooke! I am so proud of you. I love you…" Lucas said as he kissed her forehead as she held their baby girl for the first time. _

"_I love you too… and I love you Emma." Brooke's eyes had tears in them as she looked down into her and Lucas' daughter's eyes. "She has your eyes" Brooke whispered as she looked up from her baby girl to the father of her child, a smile on her face. _

_Brooke sat on the floor with Emma as she played with blocks. It had been her obsession for the past week and a half and it was getting a little old if you asked Brooke. Emma threw a block and couldn't reach it. She stretched her little hand out and reached but nothing. Just then Lucas walked threw the room into the kitchen._

"_Dada…" Brooke snapped her head up at looked at her daughter. She smiled as she had just said her first word and she couldn't have been more proud!_

"_Lucas!" He came running into the room with a questioning look in his face. _

"_She just said dada! Can you believe it?" Brooke stood up with Emma in her arms. "Say it again baby. Can you say it for daddy? Dada…"_

"_Dada" Emma said again and both Lucas and Brooke erupted into laughter and huge smiles._

_Brooke was standing in the kitchen washing the dishes. She had been busy most of the day running errands and just cleaning up around the house. She was wearing cut off shorts and one of Lucas' old shirt from college with her hair in a messy bun. She was almost done when she felt two arms snake around her waist. She smiled as he nuzzled his face in her neck and placed a soft kiss there._

"_Hey baby…"_

"_Hi, how was your day?" Lucas asked as he stood their just holding her._

"_Long… and boring, what about you?" _

"_Better now that I'm here with you…" Lucas said as he began to massage her shoulders and look around, "Where is Emma?"_

"_At a play date with Jenna Thompson's kids." At this, a light bulb in Lucas' head went off. _

"_And when will she be home?" _

"_I think around 8 so in like three hours or so… why? Did you want play time with Emma?" Brooke laughed as she set down the dish she had just been washing._

"_Oh… on the contrary, I want play time with you!" And with that, Lucas picked Brooke up and threw her over his shoulder and started to make his way up the stairs._

"_Lucas!" Brooke screamed at the sudden jolt and giggled all the way up the stairs like a little kid on Christmas morning._

_**She didn't even have time to cry  
She was so scared, she threw her hands up in the air**_

Brooke saw some of the most important moments of her life flash before her eyes and she couldn't help the tears that were in her eyes. She couldn't help but think if something happened to her Emma would be out here in the cold all by herself. She couldn't control the car so she just let go of the wheel and did something she hadn't done in a long time, she prayed.

_**Jesus take the wheel  
Take it from my hands  
'Cause I can't do this on my own  
I'm letting go  
Give me one more chance  
Save me from this road I'm on  
Jesus take the wheel**_

As the car spun, all Brooke could do was think about never seeing Lucas again or not being there for Emma as she grew up. She thought of all the things she would never get to do. She would never see Emma get her first 'A' on a project, go on her first date, never see her get married, have kids of her own. She would never get to give Lucas the baby boy she knew he desperately wanted one day, never see him walk their daughter down the aisle, never grow old with him… Then all of a sudden, the car started to slow a bit.

_**It was still getting colder when she made it to the shoulder **_

_**and that car came to a stop**_

She grabbed a hold of the steering wheel and braced her self with her arms to try to get a hold of her spinning head. She looked into the back to see if Emma was okay.**_  
_**

_**She cried when she saw that baby in the back seat sleepin' like a rock  
For the first time in a long time she bowed her head to pray  
**_

Emma was sitting just where Brooke had left her. She was still sleeping and hadn't even stirred from all the commotion. She held her stuffed pony in her tiny hands as she sucked on the pacifier Brooke had given her when they were at the rest stop. Brooke got tears in her eyes as she saw this. This turned back around and put her head down.

God had never been a constant thing in her life in her opinion. She couldn't understand growing up why he would give her parents that didn't care about her. She would occasionally pray here and there but never on a religious level. But with the sight of her baby girl sleeping soundly in the back seat, she knew that would change from now on.

_**She said I'm sorry for the way  
I've been livin' my life  
I know I've got to change  
So from now on tonight**_

_**Jesus take the wheel  
Take it from my hands  
'Cause I can't do this on my own  
I'm letting go  
Give me one more chance  
Save me from this road I'm on  
Jesus take the wheel**_

She sat up and wiped the tears from her eyes, her hands shaking the whole time. She was only 45 miles from where the rest of her family was. She decided to sit for a little bit to get herself together before she drove the rest of the way. Once she was okay enough to hold the wheel without it shaking she decided to drive the rest of the way.

She pulled into the drive way of Karen and Keith's house a little less that an hour later. She put the car in park, turned the engine off, and pulled the keys from the ignition. She looked at the keys in her hands and saw the key chain Lucas had given her when he had bought her this car for her birthday.

It was a silver angel that had a saying on the back of it. The saying said "Never drive faster than your guardian angel can fly." Never in her life had Brooke heard words as true as the ones she was now reading for the millionth time. She had read that inscription so many times but never once had she understood it as much as she did in that moment.

She looked up from the keys and she saw Lucas walking out the front door. She got out when he was close to the car and fell into his arms. She had tears in her eyes as she thought about all that she could have lost.

"Cheery… what's wrong? Why are you crying?" Lucas was baffled at how his wife was acting.

She looked up and gently caressed his face with her still slightly trembling hands and looked into his worried eyes. "Nothing… I'm just so happy to see you! I love you."

Lucas laughed lightly and wiped a tear from her face with his thumb, "I love you too."

Lucas let go of her and went to the back where he gently lifted their sleeping daughter into his arms and kissed her head. Brooke watched on as he rocked their baby girl in his arms and looked up at the sky and said a quiet but heart felt "Thank you."

Karen had soon come out and taken the sleeping girl from them and they were left just the two of them. As Lucas held Brooke in his arms, their foreheads resting against each others he asked "Are you sure you're okay?"

Brooke nodded her head and kissed his lips lightly. She then had a smile on her face as she looked into his eyes and said "You know what I've been thinking?"

"What have you been thinking about Mrs. Scott?" Lucas said just above a whisper.

"I think we should start trying for your little boy Mr. Scott." Brooke's smile grew as she saw the smile on his face and the look of surprise and disbelief in his eyes.

"Are you serious?" Lucas was more then happy with his girls but he wanted a little boy to teach basketball to and who would be on his side in arguments. They had talked about it a little but not too much. This was a surprise to say the least.

Brooke nodded her head and bit her lip as she whispered in his ear "Merry Christmas husband."

Lucas picked her up and like he had many times before threw her over her shoulder and smiled as she shrieked and began walking for the front door of the house. "Well lets get started then!"

All you could hear after Lucas made it up the steps of the porch was Brooke giggling as she said "Lucas! This is your mother's house!"

THE END

I hope you all liked it. Please review and tell me what you think of it. - Charley


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